John Homer Seger

John Homer Seger (February 23, 1846 – February 6, 1928) was an American educator best known for his work with the Arapaho tribe in Oklahoma. Seger was born in Geauga County, Ohio, and grew up in Illinois. He joined the Union Army in 1864; after the war, he worked in Wisconsin and Kansas. In 1872, Seger took a position as a mason and carpenter for a new school at the Darlington Agency on the Cheyenne-Arapaho Indian Reservation in what was then the Indian Territory. When the school opened in 1875, Seger became its first superintendent, a position he held until 1882.[1]

In 1885, Seger led 120 Arapaho westward to establish the Seger Colony, an agricultural community on Cobb Creek in the western part of the territory. He was the only white man in his party, and he is estimated to be the only white man within a 50-mile (80 km) radius at the time.[2] Seger was instrumental in both building the colony's infrastructure and leading the Arapaho in developing the community. In 1893, Seger founded the Seger Indian Training School in the colony and became its superintendent. Seger retired from the school in 1905 and lived in the colony until his death in 1928. The colony eventually developed into the town of Colony.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Seger, John Homer (1846-1928)". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  2. ↑ Ruth, Kent (June 1971). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Seger Indian Trading School" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
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